Event will include workshops and exhibitions related to art and nature.
COZUMEL — On May 26 – 27, Cozumel Island will host the first Sea Turtle Festival organized by the Cozumel Parks and Muses Foundation (CPMF), as part of its 30th anniversary.
(Photo: Google)
The island is nesting site of two of the seven species of turtles that spawn each year on the coast of Mexico. The municipality of Cozumel has three turtle camps, the most recent designated just three months ago, which covers the 52 kilometers of sand in the eastern zone.
The nesting season starts officially on May 15, but it is known that these marine animals could arrive as early as April.
The program of activities, aimed at the general public, includes painting workshops, conferences on global warming and the effect on turtles, distribution patterns, chelonian health, community participation, rescue and anatomy of this marine species.
Exhibitors participate in this event for free because they know the importance of the foundation, its dissemination and impact. Different sectors of the population of Cozumel from any ages will be able to participate, and organizers expect a capacity of up to 300 people in the Museum of the Island, affirmed the director of Conservation and Environmental Education.
The nesting areas are “Punta Sur”, registered since 2000; “San Martin” officially activated since 2002, and “Ixpalbarco”, which obtained its registration with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources in February 2017.
The Caguama and the Green turtle spawn in Cozumel while the Carey turtle makes stops at the reefs that surround the island to feed.
The night of Monday, April 17 on the beach “Mezcalitos” to the east of the island, Rafael Chacón Díaz, director of Conservation and Environmental Education of the CPMF, registered the first certified arrival of a turtle in the season 2017.
In 2016 the first registration was certified on April 22, the date on which the “International Earth Day” is celebrated, on the Chen Río beach by the staff from the sub-directorate of Ecology of the City that at that time was also headed by Chacón Díaz.
Source: sipse.com
